Winning the Battle for the Night: God's Plan for Sleep, Dreams and Revelation

© 2017 by Age to Come

Published by Chosen Books

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.chosenbooks.com

Chosen Books is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4934-0965-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017936786

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011

Scripture quotations identified NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations identified NET are from the NET Bible®, copyright © 1996–2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations identified NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover design by LOOK Design Studio

"Faith Blatchford’s Winning the Battle for the Night is wonderfully practical, brilliantly insightful and sure to inspire the reader to reconnect with God’s purpose for sleep—communion and rest. Our capacity to fellowship with God is sometimes stronger in the night than in the day, when we often have so many distractions. He longs to communicate with us through the dream realm. He deposits things in our hearts and minds while we sleep that we wouldn’t be able to process while awake. We can position ourselves for this, as a yielded imagination becomes a sanctified imagination, and a sanctified imagination is positioned for visions and dreams. This is for everyone!"

Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, Redding, California; author, When Heaven Invades Earth, God Is Good and The Power That Changes the World

I love this book. I’ve read many books on dreams, but Faith Blatchford’s story and unique insights caught me up in wonder and ignited hunger to be saturated in the last-days language of the Holy Spirit. This book will provoke you to take the dream seriously and act on it. In so doing you will become a shaper of history. I’ve been in the dream stream for years, but this book put a further hook in my heart. I can no longer say, It was just a dream. It was the roar of the Lord! Read it and find your night wings.

Lou Engle, co-founder, TheCall

I am excited about this book. Faith does an excellent job of explaining how sleep can become our friend to help us grow spiritually. You will find this book a great help as you yourself learn the importance of dreams and sleep not for just yourself but for your whole family. Great job, Faith!

Beni Johnson, author, Healthy and Free and The Happy Intercessor

"Faith Blatchford’s Winning the Battle for the Night is a beautifully written book that helps us prepare our hearts to find sweet sleep so that we can dream with God."

Linda Evans Shepherd, author, Winning Your Daily Spiritual Battles

"Faith Blatchford has been my friend for more than thirty years. The word passionate describes her well. She is also challenging, original, witty and imaginative in her writing. Winning the Battle for the Night captivated me and encouraged me anew to listen to God—indeed to ask Him for dreams. Faith Blatchford challenges me deeply, but kindly and honestly. This unique book will help countless thousands."

Pam Rosewell Moore, executive director, Pam Rosewell Moore Ministries

Wow! Insightful, helpful, a joy to read. While I’ve read books on dream interpretation, I have not come across one that helps remove the barriers to dreaming. Faith explores the hindrances that keep us from communing with God in the night hours. What a great read.

Gwen Gibson, associate pastor, Hope Center, HRock Church

"Increasingly, people report sleep problems, which lead to poor physical and mental well-being. Winning the Battle for the Night explores the importance of sleep, giving practical steps to restore God’s nighttime gift. It will empower you to value and experience good sleep, thus improving health, performance, wisdom and God-given creativity."

Dr. Michelle A. Miller, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick

This is a powerful guide for anyone who has struggled with sleep problems, and the first book I’ve seen that so clearly explains the spiritual science behind sleep. Faith Blatchford arms you with relevant and practical information about the physiological, psychological and spiritual roots to sleeplessness. Her insights will give you hope and help you reclaim God’s design for rejuvenation and revelation through sleep.

Margaret Nagib, Psy.D., clinical psychologist, Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center; founder, The Dunamis Project

"I never knew how significant sleep and a healthy dream life were until reading Winning the Battle for the Night. I was immediately drawn into the book by the real-life stories from both the author and well-known historical figures. I greatly appreciated Faith Blatchford’s ability to clearly combine teaching, research, practical application and personal learning and turn this into a personal guide and reference book that I will use and recommend for the rest of my night life!"

Andy Mason, author, God with You at Work and Dream Culture: Bringing Dreams to Life; director, Heaven in Business, www.heaveninbusiness.com

"In my career as a medical doctor, I have clearly understood the challenges caused by poor sleep. Faith Blatchford helpfully addresses the subject from different angles, not only aiding understanding but also offering practical solutions. Accessing practical help on the physical issues, finding the peace of God, which can guard our hearts and minds, and interacting on a spiritual level with the Prince of Peace all combine in Winning the Battle for the Night."

Peter Carter, M.D., family practioner in the U.K.; director, Eastgate, www.eastgate.org.uk; author, Unwrapping Lazarus

Reading this has reminded me of the importance of adequate sleep and rest from both a biblical and a medical perspective. This excellent scholarly work integrates key Scriptures with evidence-based medical practice to address sleep and rest deprivation. Anyone desiring to put into practice the truths found within the pages of this book will find a deeper, richer meaning with which to live their lives.

Brenda B. Jones, Ph.D., assistant professor of nursing, Lee University

"This generation has more distractions from sleep than any generation before. Faith does an excellent job of explaining the importance of sleep and dreams but also gives so much encouragement in telling us how much God wants to give us dreams. Winning the Battle for the Night will bring a fresh confidence in God’s design for sleep and dreams and challenge you to contend for more!"

Kim Walker-Smith, Jesus Culture

This book is dedicated to my dreaming friends, whose dreams from God at night stirred my desire for similar experiences.

Without you, my life would not have been changed and this book would not have been written.

Contents

Cover    1

Title Page    3

Copyright Page    4

Endorsements    5

Dedication    9

Foreword by Danny Silk    13

Acknowledgments    15

1. What If?    17

2. My Story—No Time to Waste Sleeping    27

3. God’s Nighttime Activity    39

4. Five Historic Encounters with God at Night    49

5. My Body Was Designed for Sleep    58

6. God’s Gift of Sleep    68

7. I’ve Been Robbed    77

8. The Enemy’s Tactics    89

9. Weapons to Win the Battle    102

10. Nuts and Bolts of Repositioning    116

11. Teach Children to Say Bye-Bye, Boogeyman    128

12. I Had a Dream—Now What?     146

13. Dream Questions    157

14. Good Night and Sweet Dreams    173

Appendix: Declarations    175

Notes    179

Index    185

About the Author    191

Back Cover    192

Foreword

I love all the areas of freedom Faith Blatchford has claimed for so many people. Here comes another one! The number of lives that are totally disrupted over the issue of sleep deprivation is stunning. We must build solutions to this chronic problem that are rooted in truth and actually help people stay free. In thirty years of working with people, I have learned that many of the problems in life are massively exacerbated by poor sleep habits.

The number of life struggles that are connected to sleep issues is staggering: anxiety, depression, inability to focus, lack of sex drive, accidents, heart problems, poor judgment and hopelessness, to name a few. If we leave the issue of sleep unaddressed, we will chase all kinds of solutions that don’t get to what we need.

Hopelessness is a fruit that comes from being unable to find a solution to a personal issue permeating our daily life. I have heard several of my friends say something that I believe applies here: Any area in our life where we are hopeless exposes a place where we are believing a lie. I agree with this conclusion. When we apply a set of truths to our life, therefore, the results are life, freedom and happiness.

Faith’s prophetic gift and her high level of compassion make her the perfect person to write this book. With insights on how people function and a tender heart toward God, she is able to pull years of experience together to help with a common and plaguing issue in our society today. She is leading people right out of their nightmares and into their dreams. This book will be a set of keys to those who have been held in the darkness of hopelessness and confusion for far too long. I am happy to see this work finally released.

God Bless,

Danny Silk, author, Keep Your Love On, Loving Our Kids on Purpose, Culture of Honor and Powerful and Free

Acknowledgments

Helen Keller said, Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. This truth applies to the writing of this book, as well as to every other area of my life. The words thank you, though meaningful, are not powerful enough to express to those listed below how much I appreciate their contribution to this book. For now, however, those words will have to suffice for the four teams involved in this project.

First and foremost, I thank God for His inspiration and revelation for this book, and I thank the Holy Spirit for collaborating in the writing process.

Thank you to the prayer team, which included Marla and her team, and also David, Beryl, James, Carol, Ginger, Bob, John, Judy, Erin, Jon, Joanna, Carl, Steve, Dawna, Cory, Bill, Diane, Alline, Tom, Kim, Ruthann, James, Jenny, Deborah, Chuck, Nancy, Brenda, Tracy, Sally, Maureen, Kathy, Beaver, Jen, Pete, Ginny, Hugh, Liz, Stuart, Laurie, Anna, Tim, Jen, Mina, Rev22, Alun and Donna.

Many thanks to the working team of Pam Spinosi, Dr. Jennifer Jones and Patty Shannon.

And finally, thank you to Jane Campbell of Chosen Books and the entire publishing team of Baker Publishing Group and Chosen Books.

1

What If?

And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.

Matthew 2:22

I love Christmas! Yes, I keep my tree up all year long. No, it is not a miracle tree; it is wrought iron, filled with elephant ornaments of every size, shape and color, part of a lifelong elephant collection. A five-foot stuffed Santa, holding a monkey suited in jolly green, presides in the living room, as he should in his role as Father Christmas. In a prominent spot on an antique chest in another corner is a Nativity scene. The delicately carved Jesus looks up from the tiny cradle, attended by Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, several shepherd boys, a few of their sheep and of course the camels and an elephant. On top of the miniature stable’s roof is a large angel representing one of the many in attendance that night. You may have grown up with one of these Nativity scenes yourself, and it is now in a box, ready to be displayed next Christmas.

That birthday, commemorated throughout the centuries in paintings, songs, books, plays, pageants all over the world, marked the beginning of a new era, a historic demarcation designated by the change on the calendar from BC (before Christ) to AD (in the year of our Lord). Mary and Joseph had some inkling of their son’s significance, and the shepherds who responded to the angel choir’s message had some awareness as well. It was the three wise men (called Magi), believers in the spirit world and the science of the stars, who knew that there was more than a star in the sky—there was a Star in the cradle. The birth of this baby terrified Herod, the emperor. He knew his kingdom was at risk because a new King had been born: Jesus, King of the Jews.

Warned in a Dream

Herod had heard the chatter about this special baby with the arrival in Jerusalem of the Magi who had journeyed from the East, following the unusual star that had appeared in the sky. He summoned these wise men to interrogate them about this star and its meaning. He then sent them on a mission to Bethlehem to locate this newborn, destined to be King. The scribes and Pharisees believed that Micah, the prophet, had foretold that the baby would be born in Bethlehem. The emperor’s pretext in commissioning the Magi for this journey was to determine the baby’s whereabouts in order to go himself to welcome and worship this Prince. God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, so the three men went home by another route to avoid a second meeting with the emperor. Once they left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, instructing him to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. They were to remain there until the angel returned with further instructions (see Matthew 2:3–15).

Meanwhile, Herod was furious, raging against the wise men who had disobeyed him by not returning with the information about the baby. He was so fearful of this child’s existence that he ordered the massacre of every male child under two in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. Jeremiah had prophesied this horrific act over six hundred years before the slaughter (see Jeremiah 31:15). Joseph believed God communicated to men through angels, so he paid attention to the angel’s warning.

But what if he had not obeyed? What if he had ignored the dream, thinking he had eaten too many lentils for dinner? What if he had discounted it, believing it was just a figment of his imagination? What if he had been so caught up with life in the natural, the new baby, the animals, the visitors, that he had not taken time to sleep so that he could have a dream? The answer to all those questions is that Herod’s henchmen would have arrived at the stable and proceeded to carry out their assignment to kill all the babies. If it did not matter whether Joseph and the family stayed or not, God would not have sent the angel. The dream mattered. Christmas Day, rather than being a day of